Department of Health and Social Care

Health Services: Migrants

Lord Rosser: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money the Immigration Health surcharge raised in (1) 2020, and (2) 2021; and how much of that money was distributed(a)solely to the National Health Service, and (b) to other departments and public bodies.

Lord Rosser: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the Immigration Health Surcharge has reduced the impact of non-British citizens using the National Health Service; and how they have made this assessment.

Lord Kamall: The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) raised £480.82 million in 2020/21; and £1,423 million in 2021/22. This relates to income collected by the Home Office through visa applications for the United Kingdom. The information requested on the distribution of this income specifically for the National Health Service in England, other Departments and public bodies is not held in the format requested. A proportion of net IHS income is allocated to the Department of Health and Social Care with other income sources for expenditure on health services by NHS England and other organisations, such as local authorities. However, there is no central record of the proportion of IHS income received by NHS and non-NHS organisations.No specific assessment of the impact of the IHS on non-British citizens’ use of the NHS has been made. Those who pay the IHS have the same entitlement to NHS care as those ordinally resident in the United Kingdom, with the exception of assisted conception services.

Medical Records: Gender Recognition

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government, furtherto the Written Answers by Lord Kamall on 24 May (HL476 and HL475), what is the legal underpinning for the policy set out in the Gender Identity Toolkit for General Practice that only gender, not sex and gender, are included on medical records.

Lord Kamall: The Gender Recognition Act 2004 provides additional rights and safeguards for those with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), such as making it an offence to disclose protected information. This includes information pertaining to the previously recorded sex of a person who holds a GRC where that information has been obtained in an official capacity and the person has not consented to its disclosure, subject to limited exceptions.The Gender Identity Toolkit for General Practice is made available by the Institute of General Practice Management, Indigo Gender Service, Practice Index and Pride in Practice. However, it is not Government guidance. The Toolkit provides voluntary information to general practices on the administration of changes to medical records and makes reference to the Gender Recognition Act.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they made of the impact on (1) the health and wellbeing of school staff, (2) the manner in which COVID-19 is transmitted in education settings, and (3) the health of children and young people at school, when deciding not to include school staff, teachers and support staff in the list of eligible categories for the COVID-19 booster vaccine.

Lord Kamall: In considering the eligible categories for the COVID-19 booster vaccine, the Government is guided by the independent expert Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on COVID-19 vaccinations. On 15 July 2022, the Government accepted advice from the JCVI on the eligibility criteria for the autumn booster vaccination programme in 2022. The JCVI advised that the primary objective of the booster vaccine programme is to increase immunity in those at higher risk from severe illness, hospitalisation and death in winter 2022/23. The JCVI’s assessment of eligibility considered that while the vaccines offer good protection against severe outcomes in vulnerable individuals, it provides relatively brief protection from non-severe symptomatic disease. Therefore, the JCVI advised that the following should be eligible for an autumn booster dose: all adults aged 50 years old and over; those aged five to 49 years old in a clinical risk group, including pregnant women; those aged five to 49 years old who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression; those aged 16 to 49 years old who are carers; residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults; and frontline health and social care workers. The JCVI's current advice is that only school staff, teachers and support staff at higher risk from severe COVID-19 illness in these eligible groups will be offered a COVID-19 booster vaccination, in addition to children aged five years old and over who are at clinical risk.

Medical Records: Gender Recognition

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Kamall on 24 May (HL476 and HL475), what is the policy for recording the gender of people who self-identify as non-binary in medical records; and what is the legal underpinning for this policy.

Lord Kamall: The Government continues to consider emerging data and research on the experiences of non-binary people to understand how future policy can be developed. In general, the National Health Service identifies individuals as male or female via NHS numbers and medical records. This aligns with the Gender Recognition Act 2004 which refers to two sexes: male and female. NHS bodies must always consider any legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights in respect of those who identify as non-binary.